Kashgar Articles2015-08-03T06:22:07+10:00life for the modern nomadhttp://www.kashgar.com.au/articles2014-11-04T12:35:54+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/The-Day-of-the-DeadAdminThe Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos is a national holiday and festival of remembrance observed throughout Mexico and in more recent times, around the world...

]]>2013-03-15T13:52:33+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/The-Ethiopian-CrossAdminOne of the oldest symbols adopted by the Church, the cross, retains its purest form in Ethiopia, where it can be found in three principal forms: the processional cross, hand cross and the pendant cross...]]>2013-02-20T17:15:09+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Birthstone-for-February-the-AmethystAdminAmethyst is the purple variety of quartz (SiO2). The name originates from Greek andmeans“not intoxicated", a reference to the belief held by the ancient Greeks and Romans that the stone prevented drunkenness...]]>2012-09-14T11:20:37+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Polyandry-or-the-practice-of-taking-multiple-husbandsAdminThe custom of taking multiple wives, or polygyny, is well known. The opposite custom, the taking of two or more husbands or polyandry, is rather less well known, and is becoming a very rare practice indeed in the modern world...

]]>2012-07-18T10:28:52+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/The-Evil-EyeAdminI remember, as a small child, my mother doing a curious thing. She placed a pot of water on the stove to boil, then threw in a handful of lubia as she called them, black-eyed beans. As the pot boiled furiously, several of the beans jumped out, and each time one did my mother called “emshee! emshee!” (go away ! go away!) in Arabic. She was, as she explained to me later, removing the evil eye from our house...]]>2012-05-08T13:53:09+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Lawar-a-Balinese-DelicacyAdminIf you’ve ever been to Bali, you’ve probably sampled a version of the local savory delicacy called lawar. One of the island’s most iconic dishes, lawar literally means “thinly sliced” or “finely chopped”, and consists of chopped meat and vegetables mixed together with fragrant spices and herbs. It is typically served at important Balinese events and ceremonies. However, visitors to Bali can easily find different versions of lawar in most restaurants and warungs...]]>2012-03-21T16:43:53+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Balinese-House-Compounds-a-Microcosom-of-the-UniverseAdminA visitor to the smaller towns and villages of Bali would be forgiven for thinking that temples adorn every street corner and all of the spaces in between. High walls with the smallest of doorways allow only the briefest of views by passers-by, while above the walls there are tantalizing glimpses of exquisitely carved shrines, some no larger than birdcages. However, these are all in fact private residences, more properly called compounds or karangs, which may house several generations of Balinese families at one time.]]>2011-11-09T15:02:03+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/River-of-Dreams-River-of-DestructionAdminThis year’s Loy Krathong festival in Thailand takes on a poignant significance with Bangkok submerged in floods...

]]>2011-10-28T17:23:33+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Today-I-Went-Down-Some-Spooky-Old-Stairs-a-Photo-EssayAdminAnd in the spirit of spooky month, Kashgar presents a guest article by photo journalist Ruykyu Mike , who lives in Japan and specialises in photos of wildlife, festivals and travel sites. Sharing tips for travelers with a twist of humour is part of the life Mike loves on the Island of Okinawa.]]>2011-10-27T12:39:19+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Hungry-Ghosts-their-History-and-OriginAdminIn the tradition of Halloween in the month of October, Kashgar brings you another legend to chill your bones, about the hungry ghosts of Eastern lore. More properly called preta or peta, these are the ghostly remnants of the dead who are afflicted with insatiable desire, hunger or thirst as a result of bad deeds or evil intent carried out in their life times...]]>2011-10-24T13:53:23+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/A-Compendium-of-DemonsAdminNo anthology of the gods and goddesses of humanity would be complete without a compendium of the major demons and fallen angels of the modern Christian Era. And just in time for Halloween too!]]>2011-10-20T14:28:03+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Halloween-its-History-and-OriginsAdminHappy Halloween everybody, or should we say Happy All Hallows Eve! Although it’s an event not much celebrated in Australia because of its commercial overtones and association with the perceived crassness of all things American, the celebration of Hallowmas and All Hallows Eve is actually a Celtic tradition that dates back to at least the 1st century and represents thousands of years of collective human folklore that honours the dead and strikes a primordial chord in us all.]]>2011-09-14T11:20:24+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Book-Review-Sylvia-Queen-of-the-Headhunters-by-Philip-EadeAdminSylvia Brooke was the consort of His Highness Sir Vyner Brooke, last Rajah of Sarawak, a short-lived dynasty of Englishmen who ruled over part of the island of Borneo between and 1841 and 1946. An eccentric, self obsessed and thougless woman, she is credited with having played a significant role in the dowfall of the the Sarawak Raj. This fascinating, almost unbelievable story comes to grips with her life and outrageous times, as documented by first time biographer Philip Eade.]]>2011-07-01T09:47:35+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/What-in-the-World-About-Mao-the-Transforation-of-Mao-Zedong-from-Tyrant-to-Pop-Icon-is-Nearly-CompleteAdminFor better or for worse, Mao Zedong is regarded as an iconoclastic figure in modern world history and was named one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time Magazine. Catalyst for the Cultural Revolution and leader of China’s Communist Party between 1943 and 1976, he was also responsible for the death of over 40 million Chinese. Today, Mao is undergoing an unprecedented rise in popularity throughout the world. His image, like that of Che Guevara, has transcended itself and his radical policies of peasant reform to become a part of western pop culture and a market leader in the antiques and collectibles market. (Photo Credit: Bettmann/CORBIS)]]>2011-06-02T12:16:15+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/The-Bawdy-Graffiti-of-Pompeii-and-HerculaneumAdminEveryone is now familiar with the recent release of quite explicit photos and service charges found on the walls of a brothel excavated at Pompeii, the resort town destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CCE. Now for your viewing pleasure comes a list of bawdy graffiti scrawled on the walls of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which confirm, if we didn't already know it, that the Romans were people exactly like us, albeit slightly more obsessed with defecation...or on second thoughts, maybe not. Here is a summary of some of the funniest and rudest graffiti translated so far...]]>2011-05-31T11:41:36+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/Remembering-BamiyanAdminEarly in 2001 Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of Afghanistan's Taliban movement, ordered the destruction of all non-Islamic shrines and statues in the shattered land over which he presided. And so the wanton destruction of the two standing Buddhas of Bamiyan was brought about, amongst the oldest and greatest relics of Buddhist antiquity. Article by Dr. Andrew Forbes. ]]>2011-04-06T10:12:46+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/A-Uyghur-Fairy-Tale-the-Clever-Young-ManAdminThe Uyghur people originated in Mongolia, and over the ages moved slowly westwards until they settled in the Taklamakan Desert region of China's far north west. Centred in and around the city of Kashgar, smaller communities can also be found today in Turkmanestan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia. Today most Uyghurs are Muslims and practice Sufism. They have developed a strong tradition of story telling, and their fables reflect their rich and varied cultural history. Here we present a Uyghur folktale, called The Clever Young Man, which is brimming with heroes, evil villains, ogres and princesses, for your reading pleasure. Our thanks to Alip of the Kashgar Caravan Travel Agency for this translation.]]>2011-03-31T11:51:21+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/headhuntingAdminHead hunting has been practiced by numerous people throughout the world from ancient times all the way into the 21th century. The term describes the practice of cutting off and preserving the head or skull of a fallen enemy. But why do people take heads?]]>2011-03-28T14:46:50+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/The-Hamsa-Hand-of-FatimaAdminIn the 21st Century we are still surrounded by talismans and symbols whose traditions date to the earliest genesis of human culture, a result of our ongoing need to find order and the familiar amongst the unknown. These symbols help to ground us, bring us comfort and instantly connect us back to the spiritual world. Here we explore the meaning of one ancient and instantly recognisable symbol, that of the Hamsa, also knownas the Hand of Fatima.

This article is part of Kashgar's ongoing series on ritual objects and symbols of the world. The entire section can be found right here.

]]>2011-03-16T15:38:37+10:00http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/The-ThangkaAdminA thangka is a classical form of Nepalese and Tibetan scroll painting, depicting important Buddhist motifs and images. Popular since medieval times, thangka paintings are usually very intricate, with images inter-woven in a stylised geometric series of overlapping grids, and fulfil many important functions to the practicing Buddhist.